Thomas Solomon Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by the artist Mitchell Syrop entitled, Bifurcated Life. This is the artist's first solo exhibition with the gallery.

Bifurcated Life is a series of 28 images, derived from notebook pages, both written and viewed in succession. The work evolves through a series of statements sometimes repeating themselves while transmuting in the process and eventually pushing the boundaries of language and representation.

Taken as a whole, the piece plays like a song. Pages can be grouped together and a viewer can conceive of sets of images within the larger body that resemble verses and refrains. After five repetitions of statements revolving around the theme of bifurcation, the piece transitions into its next movement.

Written from an interior perspective, the work resounds with existential tones that reflect on the dialectic of writing as creation and the embodiment of the artist’s divided public and private personas. In this case we find that the writing reveals secrets the author might not make known to himself.

The piece assumes a responsibility that negates the assumption that language is an indispensable nucleus of communication. Statements which can only be read through phonetic pronunciation unravel into what appear more like symbols; words become as divided as their meanings.

Mitchell Syrop's work has been widely exhibited in America and throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia. The artist has participated in a number of significant group exhibitions including Tomorrow Land: A Tribute to CalArts, MOMA (2006) and Forest of Signs, MOCA, Los Angeles (1989). His work is represented in prominent collections, including MOCA, Los Angeles, LACMA, ICP NYC, San Diego Museum of Art, and the Orange County Museum of Art.